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As I mentioned in my last post, I made a delicious, spicy zucchini side dish to eat this week. I have to admit I ate it in two sittings, it was that good. It is actually so simple it almost isn't a recipe. I steamed some zucchini and then quickly stir fried it with some garlic and red pepper flakes and then sprinkled it with Parmesan cheese. I steamed the zucchini only because I think it takes a long time to get it cooked well in a skillet with oil. Although it is two steps this way, it is easy and so very good. I like it pretty spicy so I used 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes but I put 1/4 tsp in the recipe. Just use as much as you like. This would be great in the summer when you are drowning in zucchini.

So we finished our second out of three weeks of Raw foods this week. I am getting adjusted to it, although I am still struggling with some of the recipes and planning. I am completely convinced I need to eat more raw foods. The health benefits are indisputable. Smoothies and salads will probably be my go to items to try to get more raw foods in. I also think I can eat more cut up vegetables with good dips as well as just raw fruit for a snack. I am going to work on that and hopefully you will see more recipes here. The raw desserts are fabulous and are considered a gateway to raw foods. Sadly I have a sweet tooth and don't need encouragement to eat more dessert. They are indeed healthier than regular desserts and in fact if you are hooked on traditional sweets these may not even taste very sweet to you. I will share more as I work with them. Many are nut based and can be quite high in calories so they need to be special occasion food, just like regular cheesecakes and the like. Here are some of the pictures from our food this week. We had a dip of spinach, peas and avocados, a soup with spinach, red pepper, tomato, basil and avocado, a raw lasagne, a veggie burger with all the fixings, a fennel, grapefruit and avocado salad, a taco, a pizza, and a quinoa salad. I think some are an acquired taste but others were really good. They are all beautiful aren't they? Many dishes require a dehydrator or sprouted grains and legumes. Definitely requires planning.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Tom and Beau are coming for the weekend so I'll be back on Sunday. Happy Valentines Day!

Zucchini with Garlic and Red Pepper

by Catherine Craig

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: side vegan vegetarian gluten-free zuchini

Ingredients (2-4 servings)

2 large zucchini, cut into rounds

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast

Instructions

Steam the zucchini in a steamer until barely tender, 10 -15 minutes depending on thickness of zucchini slices.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and red pepper and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the zucchini and cook over medium high heat until it gets fully cooked and starts to brown. If you like it very brown just keep cooking. This will take 10 or so minutes depending on the heat. Add the salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning, including adding more red pepper if it doesn't taste spicy enough. Go easy on the salt for now. Add the parmesan cheese and quickly stir together. Add more salt now if needed. Enjoy!

Welcome to Your Best Defense! I'm Catherine - a nurse, health coach, trained plant-based chef -trying every day to achieve health and ward off cancer and illness through delicious food and good living, So glad you stopped by to join me in my quest!